· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Roofers
Middle Tennessee sits in an active spring hail corridor, and after a storm every homeowner within a mile gets a door knock. Knowing what an adjuster is actually looking for is the difference between a legitimate claim and a denied one that costs you a deductible to discover.
What hail actually leaves behind
A hail bruise on an asphalt shingle is a soft, roughly circular dent where the mat has been fractured beneath the surface. Granules are missing and the exposed asphalt is dark and shiny. Press it and it feels soft, like a bruise on fruit.
The pattern is random and it appears on the slopes facing the storm. Damage that lines up in rows, follows the fastener line, or appears identically on every slope is not hail.
What gets mistaken for it
Blistering looks similar and is not storm damage. Blisters are small raised bubbles that pop and lose granules, caused by moisture in the mat and poor attic ventilation. They are usually uniform across a slope.
Normal aging shows as general granule loss, curling at the edges and a bald look on the sun-facing slopes. Mechanical scuffs from foot traffic leave scrapes rather than dents.
- Hail: random circular soft bruises, exposed shiny asphalt
- Blistering: uniform small bubbles, ventilation related
- Aging: overall granule loss, curled edges, south and west slopes worst
- Foot traffic: linear scuffs along a walking route
Check the soft metal first
The fastest confirmation is not on the shingles. Look at gutters, downspouts, vents, the air conditioner fins and any metal flashing. Hail dents soft metal visibly and unambiguously, and it does it at the same time as it hits the roof.
Clean dents on the AC fins and gutter faces alongside dark spots on the shingles is a strong case. Shingle marks with pristine metal everywhere else is usually something other than hail.
How to handle the claim
Date the storm before you call. Insurers work from specific events, and a claim without a date attached invites a wear-and-tear denial. Local weather records establish whether hail actually fell at your address.
Get an independent inspection before filing rather than after. A denied claim still sits on your record, and a roofer who tells you honestly that the damage is age rather than hail has saved you both a deductible and a mark.